Pompous Ass and Red Cat aside, New York doesn't have many "critter wines" in its state-wide portfolio. You know critter wines — the ones with cute little animals on the labels that are clearly targeted at younger drinkers.
Instead, you see quite a few labels with various vehicles on them, including labels for Bedells Main Road line (which feature a red pickup truck), Castello di Borghese's house wines (which also have pickups on them) and the Scooter Wines from Villa Bellangelo, which are described as "sweet and friendly."
Friendly is in the eye (and palate) of the beholder, but this wine is definitely sweet, with 7.5% residual sugar. It's made with the Niagara grape and it is similar to other Niagara-based wines I've had from the region.
The nose overflows with sweet honeysuckle aromas with that "foxy" character so common in Vitis lambrusca grapes. It's hard to describe but it almost smells like smoky rubber to me.
It's medium bodied and decidedly sweet, with more honeysuckle, honeyed melon flavors, and more of that rubber character. The finish is short and ends on a surprisingly sour note.
I know that there is an entire segment of the wine-drinking population that will probably love this wine (along with Pink Scooter, a blend of Catawba and Vincent, and Blue Scooter, blend of riesling and Cayuga), but I'm just not in that segment.
Grape(s): 100% Niagara
AVA: Finger Lakes
Price: $9
Rating:
(1 out of 5 | Not Recommended)